THURSDAY'S SCORES
@Tennessee State 80, Belmont 69
@Eastern Kentucky 80, Tennessee Tech 69
@Morehead State 85, Jacksonville State 81
Austin Peay 71, @Eastern Illinois 64
@SIUE 65, Murray State 60
TENNESSEE STATE 80, BELMONT 69
NASHVILLE - The Tennessee State men’s basketball team held Belmont to a season-low 19 percent from the three-point line and knocked off the East Division’s top team, 80-69, on Thursday night.
TSU’s victory was its first against Belmont (20-6, 11-2 OVC) since 1987- before the Bruins became members of Division I.
Robert Covington led the Tigers with 25 points on 7-of-9 shooting. He also made 3-of-4 from outside the three-point line and all eight of his free throws.
Kellen Thornton (18), Patrick Miller (15) and Jordan Cyphers (10) also scored in double-digits for TSU (15-11, 9-4 OVC).
Thornton also pulled in a game-high ten rebounds for his eighth double-double of the season. Covington added seven boards, helping TSU win the battle on the glass, 35-30.
Cyphers nailed TSU’s first bucket with a long two-pointer, but Thornton was the Tigers’ main option early, scoring six of TSU’s first eight points on 3-of-4 shooting.
Thornton finished the half with a team-high eight points and a pair of boards.
Despite the forward’s hot start, the Bruins managed to build an 18-8 lead by scoring nine points off of seven TSU turnovers within the game’s first eight minutes. The frequency of TSU miscues made Tennessee State head coach Travis Williams burn his team’s first timeout with 11:20 left in the half.
The pep-talk worked as Covington nailed a three on the Tigers’ following possession, sparking an 11-2 run that included baskets from Thornton, Miller and Rhett as well.
The string of hoops cut the Belmont lead to one with 6:10 to play until halftime.
The sides traded hoops for the better part of the period, but the Tigers ended the period on an 8-0 run to take the lead, 31-28, heading into the locker room.
All eight of TSU’s points occurred during the last 55 seconds of the half.
TSU shot 50 percent (12-of-24) from the field during the first frame and held the Bruins to a 37.5 line (12-of-32). The Tigers also forced 12 turnovers and blocked five shots during the first 20 minutes.
Tennessee State came out strong to start the second half and increased its lead to 37-30 when Covington slammed down a dunk at the 18:46 mark.
TSU eventually raised its lead to eight, 48-40, when Thornton went on a run in which the senior made three consecutive fade-away jumpers- the last occurring with just over 12 minutes to play.
The sides went back-and-forth for the game’s next seven minutes, but the Bruins were able to tie the game at 59 with a pair of free throws.
The stalemate was short-lived, as M.J. Rhett and Cyphers had layups on TSU’s next two possessions to make the score 63-59 in favor of the home team with under four minutes to go.
TSU continued to roll and raised its advantage to seven when Miller poured in a layup with just two minutes left in the game.
The Tigers made all eight of their free throws to close the game and walked away with an 80-69 upset victory.
With the win, TSU improves to 10-0 at the Gentry Center, matching the team’s best start since 1992-93.
EASTERN KENTUCKY 80, TENNESSEE TECH 69
RICHMOND, Ky. - Senior Mike DiNunno led four Colonels in double figures with 21 points as the Eastern Kentucky University men’s basketball team picked up its 20th win of the season by defeating Tennessee Tech University, 80-69, on Thursday at McBrayer Arena.
Eastern Kentucky (20-6, 9-3 OVC) has its first 20-win season since 2009-10 and the eighth 20-win campaign in program history. Jeff Neubauer is the first coach in program history to lead the Colonels to three 20-win seasons.
Tennessee Tech (9-15, 3-9 OVC) led by three at halftime and expanded its lead to five, 48-43, on a Dennis Ogbe dunk at the 14:27 mark of the second half. However, EKU responded with a 14-2 run – capped by an unlikely three-pointer from the top of the key by sophomore big man Eric Stutz – to take a 57-50 advantage with 9:30 to play in the game. The Colonels never trailed again, slowly pulling away.
DiNunno poured in 12 of his 21 points in the second half, connecting on three key three-pointers down the stretch to help seal the win. Juniors Glenn Cosey and Tarius Johnson contributed 17 and 13 points, respectively, while Stutz scored 14 points and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.
EKU committed only six turnovers in the win – its second lowest number of giveaways this season – and the Colonels converted 14 TTU turnovers into 22 points.
Ogbe and Jud Dillard paced the Golden Eagles with 17 points apiece, while Jeremiah Samarrippas went for 15 and seven assists in the loss.
EKU found success from behind the three-point arc early, as DiNunno, Cosey and sophomore Corey Walden all connected on treys before the first media timeout to give the Colonels a quick 11-2 advantage.
Eastern, however, went scoreless for more than four minutes out of the initial media timeout, allowing the Golden Eagles back into the game. TTU then went on a 12-4 run over the final four minutes of the first half, using a three-pointer by Ammanuel Diressa to take its first lead of the game, 33-30, heading into the locker room at halftime.
Eastern shot 57 percent (16-of-28) from the field in the second half and 49 percent for the game. TTU hit 45 percent of its shots.
MOREHEAD STATE 85, JACKSONVILLE STATE 81
MOREHEAD, Ky. - The Morehead State men’s basketball team registered 45 bench points and 29 points off turnovers in an 85-81 victory over Jacksonville State on Thursday night at Johnson Arena.
The Eagles improve to 12-14 on the campaign, 6-6 in Ohio Valley Conference action and 9-4 at Johnson Arena. The Gamecocks fall to 15-9 overall, 7-6 in league play and 5-6 on the road.
MSU improves to 17-8 in the all-time series against JSU. The Eagles have also won 83 percent (59-12) of their home games over the past five seasons, including 88 percent (36-5) in OVC action.
Junior Bakari Turner led five Morehead State players in double figures with 19 points off the bench. He tied his career high by drilling 7-of-9 from the field, including 4-of-5 from three-point range.
Senior Devon Atkinson added his best offensive effort in 52 games as an Eagle with 18 points. He made all six free-throw attempts and collected seven assists with no turnovers in 30 minutes.
Junior Chad Posthumus added 13 points, nine rebounds, three steals and three blocked shots for MSU, while junior Jarrett Stokes chipped in with 12 points and senior Kahlil Owens added 11.
Morehead State canned 54 percent (28-of-52) from the field -- its third-best clip this season -- including 62 percent (18-of-29) after intermission. The Eagles also made 9-of-18 from long range.
Morehead State finished +22 in bench points, +10 in points off turnovers and +10 in second-chance points. The Eagles also turned in a 27-21 rebounding edge, including 11-4 on the offensive end.
Over the past 13 contests, MSU is now +128 in total rebounds, +82 in offensive boards and +73 in second-chance points. The Eagles have outrebounded 11 opponents during the stretch.
Jacksonville State senior Tarvin Gaines exploded for a career-best 31 points in the setback. He knocked down 8-of-12 from the floor, 12-of-13 from the foul line and pulled down five rebounds.
Juniors Brian Williams and Rico Sanders tallied 15 points apiece for the Gamecocks on a combined 10-of-13 overall, including 6-of-8 from long distance. Williams also recorded a team-high five assists.
The affair featured 11 lead changes and three ties. Jacksonville State’s biggest lead of three points came with 17:18 remaining. MSU’s largest advantage of 10 came with 7:28 before the break.
The lead changed hands six times in less than three minutes down the stretch. Morehead State pushed ahead by five on a pair of free throws by Atkinson, but JSU answered with a 5-0 spurt on a three by Williams and lay-up by senior Ronnie Boggs after a turnover on the in-bounds pass.
With the game knotted at 81, the Gamecocks were called for a shooting foul and technical foul on MSU's final possession. Stokes swished both technical freebies with 1.6 seconds left in regulation. Atkinson then tickled the twine on both of his attempts after being bumped on a running lay-up.
AUSTIN PEAY 71, EASTERN ILLINOIS 64
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Red was the color of the night during Thursday’s Valentine’s Day game at Lantz Arena as Austin Peay jumped out to a quick lead and held off a late Eastern Illinois rally to win 71-64.
APSU improved to 6-20, 2-10 in the OVC. EIU fell to 7-19, 4-9 in the OVC.
Eastern Illinois trailed by as many as 22 points in the second half and were down 16 points with 2:05 remaining as Anthony Campbell made one of two from the line to put APSU up 61-45. The Panthers then used a 10-0 run fueled by a pair of buckets by both Josh Piper and Morris Woods to cut the lead to 61-55 with 1:05 left.
APSU made three of four free throws on the next two possessions as EIU missed two offensive looks. Travis Betran sank a pair with 42 seconds left to put the Governors up nine. Betran, the OVC’s third leading scorer, was held to only five points on the night. Woods helped EIU get the lead back to seven with 33 seconds left as he led the Panthers with 24 points.
Alex Austin cut the deficit to five points with a 3-pointer with 16 seconds left but APSU sank four straight free throws in the final 13 seconds to hold on for the win. Austin had 20 points for EIU making 7-of-10 from the floor and 4-of-6 from 3-point range.
Austin Peay opened the game with an 8-0 run in the first half as Chris Horton scored six of the Governors first eight points. Horton would finish with a double-double at 14 point, 10 rebounds. APSU won the battle on the glass by a 36-31 margin after being out-rebounded by 11 boards in EIU’s mid-January win in Clarksville.
The Governors extended the lead to double figures with 9:19 to play in the first on a Jeremy Purvis three point play. Purvis had 11 points off the bench as APSU led 28-18 at the half.
Campbell led the Governors in scoring with 24 points making 5-of-7 from 3-point range. For the night APSU hit 9-of-17 from beyond the arc for 53 percent.
SIUE 65, MURRAY STATE 60
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - SIUE men's basketball scored its biggest win as an NCAA Division I program Thursday, downing Murray State 65-60 in front of 2,103 at Vadalabene Center.
The Cougars used a balance scoring effort to improve to 5-7 in the OVC and move into a second-place tie with Southeast Missouri. SIUE is now 9-13 overall.
All seven players to appear in the game scored at least seven points. Five players scored at least nine points. And three players scored in double figures. Mark Yelovich and Kris Davis each scored 11 points to pace the attack. Derian Shaffer added 10 points.
Michael Messer came within a point of his first career double-double. The sophomore finished with nine points and a career-high 11 rebounds. Tim Johnson scored nine points and hauled in a career-high seven rebounds. Charles Joy turned a career-high eight points. Ray Lester added seven points and five rebounds.
Murray State, now 18-6 overall and 9-3 in the OVC, led by as many as seven points in the first half and held a 30-28 advantage at halftime.
The Racers led by as many as five points in the second half which featured four ties.
Isaiah Canaan led Murray State with 20 points. The All-OVC guard was 7 of 22 from the floor.
Stacy Wilson was the only other Murray State player in double figures. He also scored 20.
SIUE took its first lead of the second half on a pair of Yelovich free throws which made it 42-41 Cougars with 12:08 to play.
SIUE never trailed again in the game and twice swelled its lead to eight points. A three-pointer by Davis with 6:12 left made it 53-45. Two free throws by Davis with 1:55 to play made it 59-51.
Murray State refused to go quietly. The Racers got a layup from Canaan with three seconds remaining to cut the Cougar lead to 63-60. Messer was fouled on the ensuing inbounds play and drained both free throws to seal the win. Messer was 5 of 6 at the free thow line. The Cougars were 15-19 at the stripe as a team, including hitting 8 of 10 free throws in the game's final two minutes.
The Cougars forced 17 Racer turnovers and scored 21 points off of turnovers during the game.